January 10th 2012- The day rock and roll mattered once again for the first time in a long time.

The pleas have been heard. Prayers have been answered. Forlorn and desperate dreams have become reality. The gods of rock have smiled upon us.

El Paso’s At the Drive In and Sweden’s Refused, two of the most influential rock bands of the last fifteen years, have

More than ten years in the making: At the Drive In have announced a reunion tour. Can they live up to the hype?

announced their respective reformations. On the same day. In the early days of a new year. On the same day that the legendary Thierry Henry made his triumphant comeback for Arsenal and singlehandedly shot the Gunners through to the next round of the FA Cup. The symmetry is almost too perfect for words. You could almost say it was fate.

Two bands that have done more to shape modern rock than most but were cut down in their primes by internal bickering.

Take a look at the footage of At The Drive In’s final shows and witness a band on its last nerve; watch the documentary Refused Are Fucking Dead as the band embarks on a North American tour to support the album that should have catapulted them to stardom but instead causes Refused to slowly self destruct. As is the way with the trailblazers, they burned too bright too quickly and were consumed by the flames before they could reap the rewards of the labours.

Swedish punk legends Refused will be headlining Coachella 2012

In the years since their break ups, the aura and acclaim of Refused and At the Drive In has grown exponentially while newer acts have emerged to follow in their footsteps. The impact that The Shape of Punk to Come and Relationship of Command have had on the hardcore and post-hardcore scenes is indelible and now both records will be given the opportunity to shine that was denied them a decade ago.

Cynics will claim that this is just a shameless cash grab but this will mean so much more to so many people. There are countless more ATDI and Refused fans than there were ten years ago. These reunion tours, regardless of how long they last, will allow fans to be a part of something greater. This is more than just a couple of crusty, washed up old musos getting the band back together for a few laughs and extra coin. These are two iconic bands out to reclaim what is theirs. The real question is whether At The Drive In and Refused can live up to the almost mythical status that has been attached to their live shows in their decade long hiatus. Will it be everything the fans could have possibly hoped for or will it leave a sour taste in the mouth? Only time will tell. For now all we can do is give thanks for the bounty we are about to receive.

Read more about the impact of At the Drive In on modern rock here: You Need to Read This Because Your Taste in Music is Probably Shit.